The Car Trip

A few days ago, I posted a grouping of three photos from the car trip, so here are three more for you! Also, maybe you saw some of these in the new video that launched yesterday… so here they are a bit bigger and whatnot! 🙂

On the drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, you cross a perfect little stream called Monkey Creek. This spot is worth at least a few hours of exploration!

Daily Photo – Sailing on Lake Wakatipu

The car trip started here in Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu. It was a perfect spring day, and there was a lone sailboat down on the lake. Everything is on such a big scale here, maybe you can get a sense of the overall size of the lake from the tiny sailboat on there… it looks like a toy!

A fun weekend on the South Island

I jumped in the car with the family to take a little road trip down to Milford Sound. I took a bunch of photos, but wanted to go ahead and share three of them here with you. I know I usually just share one a day, but this is a little bonus I guess! 🙂

The road from Te Anau to Milford Sound is insanely beautiful. After a long drive through a meadow, you come to this small forest that leads deeper into the mountains.

Driving along the road through the mountains, you pass about 100 waterfalls. I’m not kidding! Many of them are buried in fresh green fauna, and you can’t see them unless you happen to be looking directly at them.

Thanks for ordering the Prints!

I know many people have been ordering prints from SmugMug (there is a link below each photo), and I wanted to take a moment to thank you. I’ve been receiving emails and photos of “new walls” quite a bit, and I think it is exciting. Thanks again!

Daily Photo – A Reflective Morning in Milford Sound

After sleeping in my sleeping bag all night, a 6 AM wake up time was a little bit rough. The rough part was the cold that quickly cut through to my bones when I got out. Usually I get dressed inside the tent, but, being tentless, I had no other options. I guess I could have gotten dressed inside the sleeping bag, but that would have been a little bit strange and difficult. Plus, from the outside, I would have looked like I was going through some metamorphosis.

Sandflies

I think I’ll have to find some kind of netting or something light to cover me when I take naps outside. I’ve taken to hiking and just stopping in random places to take naps. There are countless comfy spots in the grass by waterfalls and bubbling brooks, but sometimes the sandflies are around and they can be a bit annoying. I’m not exactly sure what I need… kind of a little mini-net-tent or something like this. I’ll have to poke around, but any suggestions are welcome!

Daily Photo – Path to the Waterfall

This waterfall at Milford is one of those amazing things that churns away all day. Waterfalls that generate a ton of water constantly impress me. It’s hard to get my head around all the water that is in movement all the time, and it’s even more impressive that so much fresh water can be generated without end…

Free 27 Minute How-To Video!

This comes from the full 4-video Art of Photography series that we recently launched for Beginner to Intermediate photographers. The live launch was a huge success (thanks everyone for the GREAT comments on that page!) and we have just released this first video for free. Sadly (but awesomely) you can go purchase the other 3 episodes if you find the first one to be helpful. I believe you will!

Many Days of New Zealand

I miss my new home in Queenstown, so I’m going to be posting a series of photos from NZ over the next few days. I hope that is okay. Normally I jump around and post places out of order, but I’ll make a departure from that for four or five days. Thanks for indulging me!

Daily Photo – A Moving Sunset

When the sun started going down in Milford Sound, I figured I was going to start using up a lot of memory cards. I’m still using those RAW Steel cards that are 16GB each. The D800 has been filling up my cards pretty quickly, so I’ve been thinking about upgrading to 32GB. But I already have a load of 16GB and swapping isn’t that much of a pain… maybe I should just wait until I need the 64GB some day… if ever.

Hiking Shoes and Pants

I’ve got a great pair of hiking shoes, but my pants are not so great. I’m looking for a certain pair, but I just don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. This is one of the reasons I am generally dissatisfied with my hiking pants selection and shopping. Any suggestions are welcome! They have to be warm, super comfy, not “wander downwards” when I squat for low photos, and not be tooooo dorky. That’s not too much to ask, is it? 🙂

Daily Photo – Hiking Around Milford

I went around a bend in Milford and was greeted with these strange lost-world type trees. You can see the famous Mitre Peak there on the right. There is a wide array of lush vegetation around here because of the constant moisture. There’s even a surplus of moisture here because of a huge waterfall that is right behind me, coating everything in a fine mist all day long.

A Long Flight to the PhotoWalk

I leave today for a series of long flights that will end with me arriving at the PhotoWalk. I start in Queenstown (airport code ZQN – I think they were running out) and then go to Auckland then Los Angeles then New York City. I don’t know how many hours or miles it will be, and I don’t think I wanna know!

Daily Photo – Sunset in Milford Sound

I slept in my sleeping bag under the stars this night. It was very peaceful after seeing the pink milky sound under Mitre Peak.

I took this right before I left New Zealand down in Milford Sound. I was in a bit of a hurry (you know how things get rushed before a trip), and I left the house without my tent. All I had was a sleeping bag, but it’s a good one.

I slept under some trees that were tall and seemed to be leaning inwards while I looked up. Not long after that, I fell asleep…

Don’t Miss it!

One of the MOST common questions is: “If I’m registered and I miss the live part, can I still download?” Yes, of course! 🙂

Thanks again to our sponsors HDRsoft (makers of Photomatix), SmugMug, Nik, and Adorama! We’ll have many great prizes as well – more info on the page above.

Daily Photo – What the Ancient Seamariners Saw

Imagine seeing this if you were one of the great sea explorers of yore!

This is the entrance to Milford Sound from the Tasman Sea. It would have been so amazing to come across this and wonder what it was like up inside the fjord. And then, the captain could just decide to sail up inside and land some boats on the shore. Maybe if they were a little hungry, they could even grab a few Moas and cook ’em up. After a long sea voyage, nothing goes down smoother than a Moa.

Are you an RV-kinda person?

I know some people are really into their RVs and it’s a major part of their lives. I guess they are like boats in that way. For whatever reason, I’ve never really been into that, although you would think my nomadic nature would make that option seem particularly attractive to me.

I remember when I rented this one in the photo below. It was the first one I ever drove, and I guess there was an extra layer of nervousness because I was driving on the other side of the road plus a standard shift (that you shifted with your left hand). It was all a little overwhelming while my family was flying around hanging on to whatever they could find! Well… the kids had a good time…. the crazier the drive, the better!

Daily Photo – My Kea Camper on the South Island

This was one of the prettiest parts of the drive to Milford Sound. You can’t miss it. You CAN miss a lot of things down there, but not if you are right along this main road. This is probably one of the most majestic valleys I’ve ever seen.